With global production set to rise 11% from 2016 of which the bulk coming from the US and Australia, LNG seems to be in the forefront of the media these days. The start of 2017 has been bullish as demand increased across North Asia, China and Europe. Though some are relatively optimistic, there is a debate going on pointing out a possible supply glut and insufficient demand to drive LNG prices.
Singapore is deemed a great location as an LNG hub in reference to trading financial products. We have a strong trading community paired with the regulatory environment to support trading capacity. It is just a matter of time for the LNG derivatives market to take off. In the West, we see ICE trading their first US LNG futures contract in May. Similarly, SGX is set to launch more derivative products in Q2 this year.
We foresee an injection of technologically oriented jobs in the energy sector. IT, data and analytics, as well as robotic process automation, will likely see an increase in job opportunities. Another area that might be influenced is construction, especially in the area of greenfield petrochemical projects, such as the large industrial complexes in Andhra Pradesh, India.
